Bonds not Yuba City Unified's approach

Dec 10, 2012 (Appeal-Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
The Yuba City Unified School District has not used capital appreciation bonds, a district official said.

Jonathan Barth, assistant superintendent of business, said the district hasn't sold capital appreciation bonds because the financing method does not match Yuba City Unified's approach.

"This district, just in its nature, has always been pretty fiscally conservative," Barth said.

He said of the bonds: "It's pretty hard to explain to people why you used them."
READ: Controversial bonds may have cost Yuba College, Marysville trustees their seats
Ryan Robison, superintendent of the Sutter Union High School District, said the district's 2010 bond of $5.7 million that requires repaying $45.6 million meant about $9 million in state funds and grants for the school.

"They're some very valid concerns over the long-term costs," Robison added about capital appreciation bonds.

Sutter's bond allows an early payoff of the loan, he noted. The school district built a 15-year call option into the bond that evaluates the measure in 2025 and allows restructuring to save interest, the superintendent said.

Not all capital appreciation bonds allow that, Robison said.

The funds paid for construction that included a library, computer labs, a new ag building and other improvements at Sutter High School, which is more than 50 years old.

"When you look at the kids going through our schools over the next 50 to 60 years," the superintendent said, "it's worth the investment."
California school districts in rural, unincorporated areas face a distinct disadvantage in funding projects, Robison noted.

"I'd much rather pay cash," he said of funding the work. "Unfortunately, we don't have that."
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